


How The Mighty Fall.

by j2mslittlebitch



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, BAMF Stiles, Beta Scott McCall, Derek Takes Care Of Stiles, F/F, F/M, Female Stiles Stilinski, I Blame Tumblr, I'm so sorry but it had to happen, Jealous Derek, M/M, Mysterious Deaton, People are starting to die, Pregnant Stiles, Protective Derek, Scott's a loser, Zombies, calm down guys, it's only natural, j2mslittlebitch sucks at tagging, sorry but not sorry, there is now het sex on screen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:28:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j2mslittlebitch/pseuds/j2mslittlebitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after Allison's death, when everyone is still raw from loss and the death of their friends. New friendships are formed and old alliances are tested when Derek Hale and his new pack face a completely new world where everything is gone and they need to rebuild what they once knew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alone Together

The funeral was a small affair, only a handful of people surrounding the grave in the billowing wind. Lydia stood next to Isaac, both of them shedding silent tears and supporting each other. Scott and Melissa and the Sheriff were standing by Chris who wore a stoic expression while the priest talked about after-life and God and heaven and Stiles fought hard not to fall to her knees.

She had done this, this had been her fault. Allison was getting lowered into the ground because of her. She had been weak, she had let that thing in her head, she had let it get to her and she had killed one of her best friends because of it. Her dad rubbed a hand down her arm and she couldn’t help but flinch away from him. She didn’t even look up at him because she knew she would see that hurt, disappointed look on his face, the one that had been such a common thing this last two weeks.

She dropped a rose onto Allison’s grave and then she turned and walked away, she could hear her dad calling after her, she could hear Scott whining so heartbroken it made her cry even more and she could hear Chris comforting Isaac but she couldn’t look back at all the devastation she had caused.

It took her ten minutes to realise she hadn’t thought it through thoroughly enough, her heels weren’t the best shoes to be walking in and rain had started falling, soaking her black dress within seconds. Her hair was plastered to her head and she wished she had’ve thought to put a hair tie around her wrist before she left her room this morning. She used her sunglasses to push her hair back and left them on top of her head, no use for them in the overcast, pouring rain.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked down at the screen at the missed calls from her dad, from Melissa and most surprisingly a missed call from Derek. She scrolled through them and let her thumb hover over Derek’s name for a moment before she tapped it and put the phone to her ear.

“Stiles…Stiles?!” Derek’s voice was frantic, “Stiles, where are you?”

“Um,” She looked up and around and realised she had been walking through the woods surrounding the cemetery and come out on the main road into Beacon Hills, “The highway, near the woods.”

She could hear shuffling on the other end of the phone, “Okay, okay, walk straight down there and wait at the diner. I’m coming to get you.” Then the line went dead.

Stiles stared at the phone for a moment, before locking it and slipping it back into her pocket and then she headed towards the diner. She was grateful when she walked through the doors and into the dry, she sat down in the booth, closest to the door and ordered a double shot espresso when the waitress come over.

The coffee arrived just before Derek, who flung the doors open widely and lifted his nose, scenting the air. It almost made Stiles laugh, because all he had to do is look to the right and he would have seen her. She sat hunched over, her hands wrapped around the coffee for warmth, staring into the black liquid with tears still pooled in her eyes. 

“Stiles,” he murmured as he slipped into the booth next to her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him and she instinctively shuffled closer to the warmth. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head, not sure if she could trust her voice at all.

“You’re freezing and soaking,” Derek chided, “C’mon, we’ll get you home and changed.”

He gripped her elbow as he stood and threw some change on the table for the coffee. Stiles followed obediently and slid into the Camaro when he opened the door. She didn’t protest when he leant in over her and pulled the seatbelt around her to buckle it but she watched him shut the door and walk around the front of the sleek black car.

When he slid into the driver’s seat and started the car, she murmured, “I don’t wanna go home. Please don’t make me.”

Derek looked over at her, frowning, “Yeah, okay.”

 

He was pulling into his new apartment’s car park by the time she actually realised where they were. It surprised her a little bit that he would bring her here; he hadn’t allowed anyone here, keeping the old loft for pack meetings and gatherings and this one only for himself. She wasn’t even sure any of the pack even knew where it was.

He never even looked at her as he got out of the car and pulled open her door. He guided her out of the car and up the stairs into the building and then into an elevator. A couple stepped into the elevator and eyed Stiles suspiciously, Derek snarled at them over her head and at least she had the sense to put a hand on his arm and squeeze, with a warning look up at him.

The elevator stopped and the doors flashed open and Derek guided her out into the hallway and down to the door at the end, he fumbled with his keys a little before he got the door open and then stepped inside after Stiles.

He followed her into the lounge room and shuffled a little, “I don’t have much furniture yet, only the necessities.” He rubbed a hand down her arm and frowned, “Jesus, you’re fucking freezing. Come on, we’ll get you something to wear.”

She followed him down the hall and into a large room painted a chocolate colour with a massive queen sized bed in the centre of the room. He walked over to the dark wood dresser and pulled open a door, he yanked out a black pair of sweats and a long sleeved t-shirt and handed them too her.

“The bathroom is through there, there is spare towels in the cupboard, you’re welcome to shower if you want,” he turned towards the door, “I’ll go and start some coffee.”

When he left, Stiles walked into the bathroom and although she forwent the shower, she pulled out a towel to run over her hair after she dressed in Derek’s clothes. They were several sizes too big and the pants fell over her toes and the sleeves down over her fingers, but they made her feel safe and warm so she didn’t mind. She walked back into his room and sat down on the edge of the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest.

She knew no one understood how she felt responsible for Allison’s death, everyone kept telling her it wasn’t her fault, that the Void would have forced his way into one of them, it just happened to be Stiles but it was bullshit. She had been weak and she knew it. She fell backwards, curling on her side, the tears that had been threatening all afternoon finally fell and that’s how Derek found her several minutes later.

“Hey,” he crawled onto the bed and pressed himself again her back, burying his nose in her hair, “Tell me.” It wasn’t a question, it was a demand and it had enough Alpha behind it that Stiles found herself talking without even meaning too.

“It’s all my fault. That Allison is dead, that Aiden is dead. I killed them.” The words fell out of her mouth, she was breathing fast and sobbing and she doubted Derek could even understand her, “I was weak, I let it in. Allison and Scott both felt it, they both had visions but I was the weakest. It’s my fault all those people are dead; they were innocent people, Derek, people who knew nothing about the supernatural world. Doctors, nurses, police, all dead _because of me_.”

She felt Derek shake his head, “No, you are not weak; you are one of the strongest women I know. You’ve stood up to Alphas, witches and everything this world has thrown at you. You have beat it all, including the Nogitsune.”

Her entire body was trembling now with the force of the guilt she was trying to bury, “No, you don’t get it, no one does. I killed all those people, even if my own hands didn’t do it, it was still my fault.”

Derek was silent for a moment before he cleared his throat, “I understand. I do. When I was sixteen, I met a woman; she was beautiful and was interested in me. We dated, we slept together and I showed her around my family’s home, I gave her a key so she could come over when my family was asleep. Two weeks later, my house was set alight with mountain ash blocking all the exits. Kate seduced me and used me to get my families secrets, to learn their routine and then on Pack night she struck. Laura and I had gone into town to get ice cream. That’s the only reason we survived.”

Stiles stilled while she was listening to him talk and when he fell silent, she rolled over into him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. She had always had suspicions that Kate had used Derek but he had never told anyone the story, not to her knowledge anyway.

He drew her in and crushed her to his chest, both of them content to lay in silence until Derek murmured, “Coffee is ready.” And then he was untangling himself and pushing up off the bed, “Come on, come and have a coffee then we can talk about what you’re going to do about all this.”

She nodded and allowed him to pull her up and off the bed. She followed him into the kitchen and watched as he poured her a mug of coffee and smiled a little in thanks when he handed her the mug. She took a sip and scrunched up her nose, “This is terrible.”

Derek glowered at her, “Obviously making coffee is not my forte.”

Stiles grinned, “Yes, you excel at brooding, glaring and threatening people. But that’s okay, I can make awesome coffee.”

“Good to know,” Derek shrugged and took a sip out of own mug. He leant against the counter and watched her through narrowed eyes, “So, I spoke to your dad while you were getting changed, told him you just needed some time and you wouldn’t be home tonight. He wasn’t keen on you staying here but I suspect he didn’t argue too much because at least you will be safe in my home.”

Stiles sighed, “He’s so overprotective now, ever since he found out about the whole werewolf thing and Scott, oh god, ever since Allison… like I know he just lost the love of his life, but he’s so protective that yesterday one of the lacrosse boys was asking me about next practice and he threw the guy into a locker.”

Derek cocked his head and frowned, “He didn’t shift, did he?”

“I-” Stiles paused, “I don’t think he did but he definitely scared the guy and me while he was at it. He’s never been like that before.”

“I can understand, you’re important to him, he doesn’t want to lose you too,” Derek said matter-of-factly, “But I’ll have to have a talk to him about controlling his wolf.”

“You’re one to talk, Mister Wolf-Out-in-the-Elevator,” Stiles snorted, “I thought that guy was going to have a heart attack when you snarled at him.”

“I did not snarl at him.”

“You so did,” Stiles actually laughed at him. 

 

The settled on Derek’s bed watching Tangled, which actually rendered Stiles speechless for a moment because Derek and Tangled didn’t seem like the perfect pair but she wasn’t complaining. She did complain though, when Derek made her get up and check her phone after the thirteenth missed call.

She sighed as she climbed back onto the bed and shoved her phone under Derek’s nose, “See what I mean, he’s becoming a creeper.” She had to admit that thirteen missed calls and twice as many messages were a bit over the top.

Derek squinted and pushed his head back into the pillows to get a look at the screen before he reached out and grabbed it. He held it above Stiles’ flailing arms as he dialled Scott’s number then pressed the loudspeaker symbol.

“Stiles, shit, where have you been? I tracked you’re scent then lost you at some diner, your dad is really worried and so am I.” Scott never even took a breath as he snapped out the words, “It was pretty selfish to storm away from Allison’s funeral like that.”

“Hello Scott,” Derek’s voice was even but Stiles could feel the rage emitting from him, after all she had all but climbed in to his lap to try and snatch her phone back.

“Derek?” Stiles could hear Scott actually growl over the phone, “Where is she? And what have you done with her? If you’ve hurt her…”

“Enough,” Derek barked and shook his head at Stiles as she opened her mouth to speak, “She called me and I picked her up. She needed some time and I’m giving her some, you’d do well to do the same thing.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do now, Derek, I’m an alpha too,” Scott’s voice was sharp and it made Stiles flinch, she knew he expected her to be in his pack but honestly she wanted to be as far away as possible from him right now.

Derek’s eyes were red and Stiles placed a hand on his chest while he growled out his reply, “You want to challenge me, kid? You think you can take me and win, because I’m all for that. I’m sick of this attitude and so is Stiles, so come on, you sprout all these big words and threats but you never seem to follow through, so let’s see it.”

The line was silent for so long that Stiles thought Scott had hung up but then he spoke again, “Okay, I’ll see you at the preserve in an hour.” Then the line went dead.

Stiles sat up and nearly fell off the bed, would have if it wasn’t for Derek catching her, “Do you realised what just happened? Do wolves fight for the death? Oh god, are you going to kill Scott?” Her breathing was ragged; she was fighting to get air in through her nose as she rubbed the palms of her hands into her eyes.

“Stiles,” Derek’s voice was soft as he gathered her in and rubbed her back, “Calm down, I’m not going to kill Scott, he just needs an attitude adjustment. When he loses, he might lose his alpha but he won’t be dead.”

“Okay, okay,” she was nodding and she leant into him as her breathing slowed, “You’re really good at this, calming me down and making me forget why I was well on my way to hyperventilating in a paper bag.”

Derek smiled into her hair, “I had panic attacks after the fire. If I woke up and Laura was gone or I couldn’t hear her heartbeat I just lost my mind. I learnt how to control it pretty quick when I destroyed the doors into her room in our first apartment.”

They were silent for a moment, just holding each other before Derek pulled back, “C’mon, we need to head out if we are going to make the preserve on time.” 

 

They pulled up at the preserve as Malia ran out of the woods, blue eyes glowing as she approached them. She threw her arms around Stiles, rubbing her nose along her hairline before doing the same to Derek. Ethan and Danny followed close behind, though neither of them touched the alpha or the girl.

“Why’d you agree to this?” Ethan asked, “You’re going to wipe the floor with this kid.”

Derek shrugged, “He needs an attitude adjustment, he thinks now that he is alpha that he exempt from the rules, rules we have followed for centuries.”

“You know he’ll probably lose his alpha status when he submits to you?” Ethan demanded, “You know that he’ll then need a pack to stop from falling to omega.”

“Yeah,” Derek nodded, “And we will offer him a place in this pack if he wishes or we can set him up with a neighbouring pack.” He didn’t get a chance to say much else because Scott’s bike pulled up next to the Camaro and the other alpha climbed off, pulling his helmet off.

His eyes were half wild when they settled on Stiles and he dropped the helmet and made a beeline straight for her. Derek sensed her anxiety and heart rate rise; he must have, because he stepped in between Stiles and Scott. Scott snarled, his eyes bleeding red, something that Derek mirrored.

“Get out of the way, Derek,” Scott growled, trying to side pass the bigger man as he looked at Stiles standing behind him in Derek’s clothes, carrying Derek’s scent. “What have you done to her? Did you threaten her to join her? Did you threaten _me_?”

“She’s mine now,” Derek snapped, pushing Stiles back a step and half crouching in front of her. He’s wolf was straining against its restraints, howling and snapping and _winning_.

Stiles placed a hand on his wrist and squeezed, “Not here, we are in plain sight, we need to get into the woods.” Get somewhere where a few howls and snarls would be ignored, where the crashing and falling trees would be over looked.

Derek pulled himself back from the edge and turned his wrist in her grip, slipping his hand up to intertwine his fingers with her own. He needed her right now, Scott had threatened his pack, Scott was a threat and Derek needed Stiles to keep him grounded and it shocked him to realise for how long that had been true.

They walked deep into the woods, to a clearing that had for a long time been used for exactly this, they had sparred here, fought here, claimed each other and banished each other here. Stiles could feel it deep in her bones, the history of this place echoed and clung to her every pore.

Derek squeezed her hand once then dropped it, he turned back to face his pack and his eyes were still crimson, glowing bright in the darkness of the surrounding woods. “No matter what happens, you keep her safe.”

Ethan and Malia both nodded, moving to flank Stiles as Derek turned back to Scott. They circled each other for a few moments, Scott was nervous; Stiles could tell by the twitch of his left hand as adopted a sloppy fighting stance.

Scott was a newer wolf with a smaller pack and he had no chance against the born wolf with his pack flanking him. Stiles wondered briefly where Isaac was, Isaac had chosen Scott over Derek months ago but yet here he was, standing alone. Stiles couldn’t blame Isaac for abandoning the alpha who had cradle the love of his life as she died, Stiles couldn’t blame Isaac for hating Scott not when she was so close to doing so herself.

He had changed the same time the colour of his eyes changed, he had become a better wolf but a bad friend and a bad alpha, always choosing what was _right_ over protecting his pack. Derek was a lot of things, but he protected his pack, he learnt from his mistakes and he was building a family and pack that was protected and looked after and welcome.

When Ethan gripped her shoulder, Stiles knew it was about to begin and the wolf knew her well enough to know that when the first blow landed, she would be throwing herself between them trying to stop what she had started.

Scott lunged first, quick and sloppy and he was projecting because Derek easily sidestepped, bringing a still human fist down between his shoulders as he stumbled past. Scott went down, clawing and scrabbling for a grip before he brought himself back to his feet. His eyes were feral and shining red and Stiles was sure every trace of the old Scott, of her best friend was gone.

Scott lunged again, growling and snarling and swiping out with a clawed fist and Derek dodged around him, throwing a hand out and gripping the boys head and slamming it down on his knee. Scott stumbled but didn’t go down, he was panting and spitting blood and projecting so much rage it made Stiles antsy.

“You shouldn’t have touched her,” Scott was growling, “She has always been mine. _Always_.”

“She was,” Derek smirked, baiting the other wolf, “Until you met Allison, and then you abandoned her. A good alpha won’t leave a pack member behind.”

“You mean like she always did,” Scott scoffed, “She left me in the woods the night Peter attacked me, if it wasn’t for her then I wouldn’t even be in this position in the first place. I never wanted this, I never asked for this.”

Ethan’s grip had tightened and he shook his head, she understood this was alpha business but what Scott was saying was absurd. Yes, she had split up from him, but she had done so to protect him from the police and her father who had stumbled upon them. Stiles had never abandoned Scott, not at the school when Peter was trying to kill them, not when they faced down the kanima and not the countless times Scott had come a hair-width away from ripping her throat out.

“You’re not looking at the bigger picture, Scott,” Derek reasoned, he was still completely human while Scott was beta shifted and panting over the other side of the clearing, “Stiles left you in the woods to protect you, she left you to lead the police away from you. She’s the sheriff’s daughter, you aren’t. She’s the one who helped you through your first full moon; she’s the one who helped you control your wolf. So yes, if it weren’t for her, you wouldn’t have been here, you would have been dead.” 

Ethan released Stiles’ shoulder and she took that as her cue to move, “Scott, I never abandoned you. I never would.”

Scott rounded her on then and advanced on her, his eyes still burning red, “You never would? You already have. You killed Allison and then you ran.”

His words hit her like a roundhouse kick to the face and they knocked her back a couple of steps, she would have fallen if not for Ethan grabbing her and hauling her upright. She clung to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders while Ethan used his strength and size to spin them around and put Stiles behind him.

He needn’t have worried because Derek was on Scott before he had taken three steps. Derek roared and it was so loud and resounding and filled with undeniable rage that even his own beta’s shifted and cowered. Derek was beta shifted, fighting off the full shift as he grabbed Scott by his throat, lifting him off his feet then slamming him backwards into the dirt. Scott fought, scratched and hissed like a cornered cat but Derek never even flinched when the blows connected. 

He held Scott down until the other alpha was still, then her ordered, “Submit.”

There was no room for argument or negotiation, Derek had thrown his entire alpha status behind the order and Stiles could see Scott struggling with himself, Scott’s human side was fighting and stubborn and his wolf was cowering and whining. 

Derek lifted him slightly and slammed him back down again, “Submit!”

“No,” the word was ripped from Scott’s lips as he started struggling again, clawing at Derek’s hand around his throat, “No, I won’t.”

Stiles could see the scene over Ethan’s shoulder and she could see the exact moment that Scott gave up, she seen his eyes bleed from red to gold and Derek released him, stepping back and closing his eyes momentarily. Stiles gasped when he opened them again, they were so red they looked black and it was terrifying.

“Don’t worry,” Ethan murmured, hearing the rise in her heartbeat, “it happens when you defeat another alpha, you ingest their power.”

Stiles couldn’t take her eyes off Derek though she relaxed as they lightening to their original red then the red bled into green. She let go of Ethan and flew over to Derek and into his outstretched arms, he shoved his nose into her hair as he pulled her into a bone crunching hug.

Scott moved slowly from the ground while Stiles watched him over Derek’s shoulder. He stood awkwardly for a moment until Derek released Stiles and turned around to face the new beta.

“You have three options to choose from. You can join this pack as a beta at the bottom of the food chain and work your way back into my good graces, you can join a neighbouring pack or you can become an omega.”


	2. Just One Yesterday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, just a few notes to clear up a few things for this chapter and future chapters.
> 
> 1/   
> My wolves can fully shift into a full wolf, just for future reference in case this confuses anyone
> 
> 2/  
> Yes, Scott is a loser, I do have plans for him to redeem himself, I know it is out of character but let's remember this fic was born from my mind, not from Jeff Davis' mind. If people don't like how he has been portrayed in these chapter, just a warning, it will probably get worse before it gets better - you have been warned.
> 
> 3/  
> I know I have rushed Stiles and Derek into their relationship but I needed to so I could focus on the plot of this fic, there is bits and pieces in the past that we are yet to know because my fic does not completely follow canon.  
> Here's some important points that may or may not be covered in the chapters following, so sparknote version:  
> \- Stiles and Malia never slept together, they have a more Allison/Lydia relationship.  
> \- Allison, Lydia and Stiles bonded and became best friends over the fight with the Alpha pack.  
> \- Derek and Stiles have been closer then in the show, they have always been close friends and they always trusted each other. So technically we aren't rushing them into anything as they have been dancing around each other for two years.  
> \- Scott isn't such a good guy in this 'verse, he always does what he thinks is _right_ but sometimes it's what's right for him, not everyone. It is tagged that _Scott is a loser_ so if you don't like me villianizing Scott, perhaps this isn't the place for you.  
>  \- Ethan and Danny are still together, Danny is still human along with Lydia.  
> \- Isaac is hurt about how Scott acted when Allison died, they were friends and Scott forgot all about him, hence why Isaac has slinked back to Derek.
> 
> 4/  
> I love my wolves lovely anything Disney and basically being big kids, so while they can be they will be.
> 
> If i missed anything, I'll post them in next chapters note, if you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and thank you for the lovely comments on chapter one.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the ride;  
> j2mslittlebitch x

When it was all said and done, Scott had chosen to join Derek’s pack. He had scrambled home with his tail between his legs, promising to return to meet Derek tomorrow morning at the diner Derek had first found Stiles.

Ethan, Danny and Malia followed Derek and Stiles back to the Camaro and waited for orders. When Derek opened his mouth to speak, Stiles interrupted him, “I have an idea. I know a place. We can get some beer and go out there.”

Werewolves couldn’t get drunk unless they drank a homebrew that had a delicate mix of mistletoe and wolfsbane in it but luckily Peter had been teaching Derek to brew it and he had picked it up fairly quickly. 

They piled into the Camaro and Stiles shot off a quick text message to Isaac, Lydia, and Malia, telling them the plans and where to meet them. They picked up a case of wolfsbane beer for the wolves and a bottle of scotch and some fancy wine Peter was saving for a special occasion for the humans and headed back out the preserve, though the other side now.

Stiles stepped out of the car and smiled when she realised they were alone. She had brought them to the same place she brought Scott to when he first had problems with Allison. It was famous as a place to come and makeout or drink your problems away, and Stiles had frequented here for the latter more than she would like admit. 

It was a large cleared area set on the edge of the hill, surrounded by boulders and trees. Fire drums littered the clearing with logs and benches here and there for sitting, Stiles pulled out a lighter she had grabbed earlier and lit one of the fire drums, she knew the wolves wouldn’t get cold but the humans sure would.

The rest of the pack met them as they were unloading the beer, Lydia always the perfect hostess had brought take away, chinese and KFC. It struck Stiles how strange the scene looked, everyone was smiling, laughing and talking, they were joking and ribbing each other, Malia was taking a playful swipe at Isaac when he said girls were slower than boys (because _everyone_ knew that), Ethan and Lydia were handing food out to everyone while Danny was trying to explain the different between Apple and Samsung to Derek who just looked plain lost.

No one had looked this happy since before… before the Nogitsune, before the Druid, before the alpha pack, before Peter, before Kate. There was so much in their past’s that Stiles wishes she could take from them, take those nightmares and sleepless nights but those events had formed them into the people and the pack they were today, without those events, she never would have met Derek, she never would have met Malia, she never would have gotten to know Lydia for anything more than a nice set of legs in hot shoes and she thanked God every single day for them and the family they had built.

“Stiles,” Lydia was in front of her now, wearing her dissatisfied look that meant Stiles had unintentionally ignored her, “Food?”

Stiles took a drum stick and stared at it for a moment before looking back up to Lydia, “Do you think I’m a bad person?”

“What?” Lydia was startled from the bottle of wine she was drinking, so lady-like, straight from the bottle, “Why would you say that?”

“Scott, he said some things before, that I killed Allison, that I abandoned my friends. He said all this was my fault.” Stiles took a swig of scotch, coughing slightly as it burnt its way down her throat. “He said that –”

“Stop,” Lydia commanded, “You are one of the best people I know, you are the only person who actually cared about anyone, you cared enough to push yourself to your limits and past them, you cared enough to work yourself into the ground with research and recon plans and just everything. You _made_ us. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t all be here tonight and Scott’s an idiot if he can’t see it.”

Stiles swiped at her eyes, rubbing a hand back over her hair, “Do you think we are bad friends for laughing and joking when Allison is dead?”

This time Lydia took a moment to answer, “I did think that for a little while and then I remembered how happy and bright and _vibrant_ Allison was and I know she wouldn’t have wanted us to mourn her, she would have wanted us to celebrate her life and be happy that we knew and loved her and acknowledge she died to save us.”

Stiles nodded, bringing the bottle of scotch back to her lips, “Okay, I just miss her.”

Lydia rubbed a hand down Stiles’ arm, “Me too, Stiles, me too.”

 

Stiles had lost track of time, she was more than a little wasted as was the rest of the pack. They sat in a circle around the fire drum, Stiles was sitting in between Derek’s legs, her back to his chest with his arms wrapped around her. Malia and Isaac sat in much the same way, while Lydia, Danny and Ethan were curled around each other next to them.

Everyone was quiet until Ethan spoke, “Aiden would have loved this, he loved the outdoors and he loved spending time with the pack, especially you,” he nodded at Lydia, “He loved you, you know? He wasn’t good with feelings, neither of us really were, we were raised to be weapons and sometimes we forgot that we could want things for ourselves too.”

Danny pulled him in closer and Lydia followed, wrapping her arms around the men and even without the wolf sensed, Stiles could hear her sobbing. She leant her head back against Derek’s shoulder and he rubbed his chin through her hair, there was a low rumble in his chest that sounded suspiciously like a purr and Stiles had to fight back a snort of laughter.

“Allison told me she loved me, before…” Isaac’s voice broke, “Before we went to the camp, she made a point of telling me, she told me she was proud of us, proud of me because of what I had become. I think she half knew something terrible was going to happen there that night. I lost her right when things had started falling into place.”

“She told me that too,” Stiles murmured, “She told me that she thought of me like a sister and to be brave. She told me as she helped me limp out of the car when we got there. She told me that she had faith in me and that there was something inside of me that she could see but I couldn’t. I still don’t know what she meant, but maybe one day I will.”

“The last thing I felt was her heart breaking,” Lydia said softly, “When I was trying to wake Stiles up when she collapsed in that corridor, I felt the sword and I felt her realise what was happening, her understanding and then her heart shattered, like she knew _this is it_.”

“They didn’t want to leave us,” Derek spoke for the first time now, “They didn’t want to go but they weren’t given a choice. They fought for their pack and they protected the people they love and that is the noblest thing anyone can ever hope to do.”

Stiles turned slightly in Derek’s embrace to wrap her arms around him, he held her tight and she could hear the pack start talking between themselves, sharing stories of Allison and Aiden, of the good times and the funny times, they were laughing again and Stiles thanked God once more for these people surrounding her.

“You are amazing, Derek Hale,” Stiles murmured in his ear, smiling sloppily.

Derek pulled back to look her in the eyes, “Why?”

“Because for such a failwolf, you sure know what to say and when to say it,” Stiles smiled. She leant forwards and rested her forehead against his, they were so close, their breath was mingling and Derek’s arms tightened around her when his eyes flickered down to her lips and she could sense his need, she wasn’t sure how and she wasn’t going to probe to deeply into that so she just leant forwards slightly, giving him silent permission, which he took.

He rushed forwards, lips claiming hers and his hands coming up to frame her face. She hummed into him, opening her mouth as his tongue darted across her bottom lip. The kiss was sloppy and messy and so perfect and so rudely interrupted by Isaac’s catcall from across the fire drum.

Stiles came back to herself and pulled back slightly, glaring at him over the flames and she still managed to look formidable even with the blush riding right to the tips of her ears. “You’re just jealous because you’re not getting any!”

Isaac snorted and shrugged, his hands resting on Malia’s hips, “Who says?”

Malia laughed and shoved at him until he feel backwards and she was hovering over him, Lydia squealed and covered her eyes, while Danny and Ethan laughed loudly and freely with their heads thrown back.

“Guys, get a room,” Stiles yelped as she averted her eyes when Malia leant down and kissed the blonde boy beneath her. “C’mon, let’s keep this PG rated thanks.”

“Oh, you’re one to talk, Stilinski,” Danny crowed, from behind Ethan and then he shook his head, “I think there must be something in the air, all the girls are freeing their inner pornstars.”

“Hey,” Lydia shouted, throwing a handful of grass at Danny, “Not all of us, at least one of us is very lady like, thank you very much.”

 

Stiles woke the next morning with a thumping headache and a dry mouth, surrounded by heat. She forced her eyes open and tried to look around without moving her head and watched as the room spun around her. She was obviously in Derek’s room, and he was obviously in the bed with her because she could feel him pressed up against her, his leg thrown over hers and his arm over her stomach, his hand gripping hers.

She would have enjoyed it had she not needed to pee so desperately, she slid out from under him and he grumbled in his sleep, feeling around the bed for her. She smiled slightly and slipped into the en suite to pee and rinse her mouth out with mouthwash and water. Her stomach rolled and rebelled as she tried to take a sip of water and she thought better of it, she was never keen of vomiting in someone else’s house, especially someone who could smell it.

Stiles could hear other people moving around the apartment and she was thankful Derek had purchased one with extra rooms because they were definitely going to need them. It made her heart swell to know he had finally opened up enough to bring the entire pack into his safe haven and open it up to all of them.

She couldn’t remember a lot in the tail end of the night, she could remember walking back to Derek’s apartment, him trying to kiss her and fumble with the keys to try and get them in the lock without breaking the kiss. He had carried her over the threshold, his hands under her thighs with her legs wrapped around his waist. He had slammed her in the wall, she vaguely remembered the pack filing passed, Malia was dragging Isaac into the apartment by the shirt, Derek was shouting not to have sex in his room or the kitchen table, Stiles had no idea where they had ended up.

It got fuzzy from there, Danny and Ethan were leaning on each other, holding one another up, and they had suggested shots and started fumbling through Derek’s cupboards until they found a bottle of vodka. Lydia had lined up shot glasses, Stiles remembered the first two shots, she remembered dancing on the coffee table with Lydia singing Katy Perry’s _Dark Horse_ , another shot and then darkness.

When she slid back into bed, Derek immediately hauled her hard against him, “Thought you were gone.”

“I would never leave you,” she murmured and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth as they dozed off again.

 

She was rudely woken once more by someone trying to bash the door down, Derek was already up and stumbling across the hardwood floor to yank it open. Shirtless with sleep mused hair, Stiles didn’t think she’d seen anything more attractive.

“Derek,” it was Isaac whining and clutching at his head, and he looked like Stiles felt, “Derek I think I’m dying.”

Stiles snorted a laugh as Derek stepped back with a growl, to let Isaac wander in and flop down on the other side of Stiles. She slid back into Derek’s arms once he lay down, “It’s called a hangover, you loser.”

Isaac frowned, “No, we don’t get sick, do we?”

This time Derek smirked, “Isaac, you ingested wolfsbane and mistletoe, of course you’re going to feel sick. It’s how we get drunk, the herbs mess with our auto-healing so we can suffer the effects of the alcohol.”

“Dude,” Stiles piped up, “Did you never get drunk while you were human?”

Isaac shook his, “My dad… y’know.”

“Oh,” Stiles nodded; of course he had never been drunk. His dad would have locked him in that freezer to stew in his own vomit if he had. Not for the first time, Stiles was glad the man was dead.

“Who’s cooking breakfast?” Derek asked warily, scenting the air.

“Lydia and Danny,” Isaac answered, “Don’t worry; no one would be stupid enough to let Ethan or Malia near the kitchen ever again.”

Stiles could have stayed here all day with Derek curled around her with the sun floating down over them through the window next to the bed, but it was interrupted when Malia came shuffling in, she looked just as horrible as Isaac and was wearing the same sorry look on her face. Stiles wondered if she had ever had a drink before last night but she very much doubted it, spending half her life as a coyote cut those odds down.

Malia reached over Isaac to grip Stiles’ wrist, “Stiles, how do you put up with this all the time?”

“Hey,” Stiles laughed, “You make it sound like I’m a drunk. We humans just learn to deal, I guess.” Her own head hurt but it was starting to reside and obviously the wolves weren’t so lucky. Even Derek was curled up against her with his face buried in her shoulder to stop the light hitting his eyes.

“It’s horrible, anyway, Lydia sent me up too tell you breakfast was ready, she said real hangover food, greasy bacon and eggs and stuff,” Malia hadn’t even finished when Stiles was scrambling out of bed. The wolves either side of her groaned and growled but she was already half way out the door. She chuckled lightly as she left the room at Malia dragging Isaac up and out of the bed.

Stiles stumbled into the kitchen and nearly fell over her own feet when everyone stopped talking and just stared at her, “What?” 

Lydia waved a hand at her, “You’re wearing no pants and you have a line of hickeys on your neck,” Lydia squinted and tilted her head, “And on you thigh.”

Stiles looked down at herself, she only wore her underwear and one of Derek’s Henley’s and huh, when had she gotten those hickeys? Obviously she had more to drink then she remembered, “So what? It’s not like we didn’t spend half the night listening to Malia and Isaac have sex.”

“Ah,” Isaac rumbled as he stepped into the kitchen, “Really? You had to bring me into this?”

“Oh hell yeah, I did,” Stiles smirked and waggled her eyebrows suggestively; “Malia told me you were good but hearing the performance last night, it blew my socks off!”

“Can we stop with the loud noises and sex talk please?” Derek asked as he stumbled into the kitchen, bare chested, and started loading up his plate, “Stiles, did you not think to put pants on before you came out here?”

“Ah, obviously not,” Stiles snapped and snatched a plate out of the cupboard before shoulder barging Derek, “Don’t eat all the bacon, Sourwolf.”

 

The pack had just settled down to eat breakfast around Derek’s table when there was a knock on the door, Derek grumbled and pushed Stiles off his knee so he could stand and walk through the apartment to get to the front door. Stiles could hear murmuring but couldn’t hear what was being said and she blinked twice when Deaton followed Derek into the kitchen. He eyed the pack with raised eyebrows, clearly surprised at seeing them all in the same kitchen, touching each other and laughing and looking like _pack_. 

“Stiles, Deaton wants to speak to you,” Derek murmured.

She nodded and walked towards the vet, who led her out and into the hall. “Stiles, I know you don’t trust me and I guess you have good reason for that, but I need you to be very honest with me, okay?”

Stiles nodded and flinched away when Deaton went to grab her wrist, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, we just need more privacy.” He turned and walked to the front door, stepping out and waiting for Stiles to follow.

When he shut the door she asked, “What’s all this about? What is it you can’t talk about in front of the pack?”

“Scott came to me last night, he was a beta once more and terrified that someone had magicked you in efforts to keep you in Derek’s pack.” Deaton started, “I told him that he was being paranoid and jealous, that if you chose Derek you had a good reason. You are a lot of things, but slow witted and easy to manipulate are not among that list. Do you and Derek have a personal relationship that is influencing your need to stay with him?”

“Yeah, I –” Stiles started, “Wait, Scott tried to tell you I was cursed to stay with Derek?”

Deaton laughed softly, “Like I said, he believes you are his and that you chose someone else is inconceivable to him. I need you to do something for me,” Deaton waited for Stiles to nod and continued, “Hold out your hand, palm up.” 

When she did so, he placed two fingers to the pulse point on her wrist and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his mouth and exhaling quickly before jerking back, “Oh.”

“Deaton,” Stiles asked, half panicked, “What is it?”

Deaton opened his eyes, “Stiles, I have something of a gift. By touching your pulse point, I can sense you. Not your future, I’m not a clairvoyant but I can _see_ inside you.”

Stiles wanted to scoff and call the man some name but for some reason, it got stuck in her throat. She had always known that Deaton was something more than a vet but they had never actually found out what he was or what he could do. Stiles suspected he was a Druid what with the ease he counter acted Julia’s magic.

“What did you see?” Stiles’ voice was small like she dreaded the answer.

“You have a spark, we all know that. We discovered that quite some time ago. But your spark was recently awakened.” Deaton was thoughtful as he continued, “Have you been able to sense anyone’s feelings or perhaps thoughts? Have you just _known_ what they want or need?”

“Yeah,” Stiles murmured, last night she had known the pack needed some downtime, she had known Derek wanted to kiss her, she had known Lydia was mourning one of her best friends harder than anyone else and she had known how to help them. “Yeah I have.”

“Okay, that means you need to start training with me.” Deaton smiled, “I think you are meant to be Derek’s emissary, I think that is why you have such a strong connection with him.”

She nodded, “I can – I can feel him in here,” she put a fist to her chest, over her beating heart, “I can feel that right now he is worried for me, concerned as to why we needed privacy. He’s trying to hide it from the pack but I bet they can tell.”

Deaton cocked his head, knowingly, “Now that sounds like a little more than just the emissary’s bond.”

“What?”

Deaton chuckled and checked his watch, “I need to head off, I suspect Scott is waiting at the clinic as we speak. I will inform him that you have not been magically coerced into anything, but I will leave the details to you to tell him. He has informed me he joined the Hale pack, he is misguided in thinking he needs to keep you safe. If you would like to come down to the clinic Monday after school, we can start your training.” 

And then he was walking away, waving over his shoulder and all Stiles could do was shake her head and turn back to the apartment. 

 

Derek was leaning against the kitchen counter when Stiles walked back in; he had the familiar scowl on his face. Ethan and Isaac were arguing which Disney princess character was best with Lydia and Malia sitting on the floor in the corner while Lydia was trying to teach Malia the perfect manicure technique. Danny was nowhere to be seen but Stiles wasn’t worried, he was probably showering or curled in bed reading.

“What’s up, Sourwolf?” Stiles smirked as she sidled passed him to the coffee maker.

“What did he want?” Derek asked, turning to face her.

“Just to tell me Scott’s still a creeper even as a beta and to let me know I’m your emissary.”


	3. In the Dark.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack receives some terrifying news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is unbeta'd so if any errors are annoying you too much, please let me know.
> 
> Otherwise, I hope you're enjoying the ride and as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated.
> 
> j2mslittlebitch x

Derek insisted on taking Stiles home to see her dad and collect more clothes should she wish to stay, he claimed he was sick of her wearing his. Truth was, he loved her wearing his, carrying his scent everywhere she went but he also knew she needed to see her dad and work out this whole situation.

So he dropped her off outside of her house on his way to meet Scott and wished her luck as she climbed out of the car. The Sheriff was off and his cruiser was parked in the driveway, Derek had called ahead and warned the Sheriff, making sure he would be home so they wouldn’t miss each other.

Stiles knew she needed to see her dad, she needed to explain her disappearing act and try and make him understand what was going on in her head. He had been so good to her, forgiving her for everything she had kept from him, for all the damage she had caused while fighting off the Nogtisune. He had helped cover for her when all the security cameras showed a monster wearing her face committing mass murder.

John was sitting at the kitchen table, wearing his uniform when she walked through the door. He looked up at her from the crossword puzzle he was doing and offered her a small, sad smile. “Hey kid.”

Stiles smiled and slid into the chair across from him, “Hey dad.”

“How was your night?” John asked, looking back down at his puzzle, “I had a callout about some rowdy kids up at the lookout, don’t suppose you know anything about that?”

Stiles laughed, “You been spying on me, daddy-o?”

“Nope, not at all,” John smiled, “Parrish went out to check up and said he seen you and your friends, he didn’t interrupt because he knew you all needed some time out.”

If Stiles was going to honest with herself, the last twenty-four hours with Derek and the pack have helped her. She felt lighter, less like a serial killer and more like her old self. If she thought to deeply about it, she would feel guilty for being almost happy after Allison and Aiden and all those innocent people had died at her hand.

“Being close to the pack… helps,” Stiles murmured, all traces of humour gone, “they help carry the burden.”

John nodded, “It’s okay, I understand. I know this place carries some hard to swallow memories and I don’t blame you for staying away, but please, just tell me. Don’t run off again, if you want to stay with the pack every night – that’s completely fine with me, but just _tell_ me so I don’t need to put an APB out of you.”

Stiles stood up and moved around to John’s side of the table, hugging him close, “Thank you, dad.”

He smiled softly at her as she moved over to the coffee maker, “I guess you’ll be staying with the pack then?”

Stiles nodded, “If that’s okay?”

“Of course,” John murmured, ducking his head as he drank the last of his coffee. He stood from the table and walked around the counter to press a kiss in her hair, “As long as you’re safe. Anyway, I have to head to work. I’ll call you tonight.”

“Okay, I love you dad,” Stiles smiled as she poured herself some coffee, “Be safe.”

“You too, kiddo.”

 

Scott was already at the diner when Derek walked in; he sat in a booth in the furthest, darkest corner and was brooding. Derek could scent his barely contained rage and Derek knew it was a hard pill to swallow, getting your ass handed to you then having to join the alphas pack. 

Derek slid into the booth and watched him for a moment with narrowed eyes, “To start with, if you want to be part of my pack, you need to cool it with Stiles. I get she’s your friend –”

“She’s my sister,” Scott snapped, his eyes flashing, “and you stole her from me.”

“Seriously,” Derek sighed, “this again?”

Scott started to rise from his seat, lips lifting in a snarl until Derek slammed an open palm down on the table and snapped, “Stop it, you are being ridiculous. Deaton has informed you that Stiles chose me herself, I did not threaten or hurt her nor would I ever. She is pack, she is mine, she is to be protected. As are you now Scott, I would do the same for you – for any one my pack.”

Scott sat back down, his eyes down cast, “I don’t understand why she chose you over me, we’ve been joined at the hip since I could remember and now all of a sudden, she’s gone.”

“She’s not gone, she’s still right there,” Derek murmured, “Sometimes people just grow apart and after what happened with the Nogitsune and Stiles and Allison and Aiden – well she blames herself, I know she find it hard to be around you because of her own guilt and she thinks you blame her too.”

Scott looked up, eyes wide, “No, I never… oh god, I don’t blame her but sometimes I act like I do. This is my fault, this big mess that I’ve created.”

“We are going to fix it,” Derek said, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself and let’s go. We are doing some training in the woods in the preserve and for it’s for pack, so you need to be there. Don’t be surprised if the pack in a little prickly and distrusting first up, Stiles has been projecting and everyone is feeling a little touchy about you.”

 

Derek picked Stiles up from her dad’s house and helped her throw her BHPD duffels in the trunk. She was silent while they got in the car and headed to the preserve. Not for the first time, Derek was having trouble understanding how the girls run and fought in the clothes that they wore. Stiles was wearing tight, torn jeans with knee high black boots and a black singlet top with a new necklace around her neck.

“What’s that?” He nodded towards the trinket; it hung on a long piece of worn old leather and rested between her breasts.

She lifted it up and looked at it, it was bronze and silver and looked like a tiny wolf, “Oh it’s something Deaton gave me. He called around just before you showed up, he said it was for protection of the wolf or something kooky like that. He just told me to wear it all the time, and then disappeared again.” Derek grunted as he steered the car around the bendy road that lead to the preserve. “Derek, I’ve been thinking…”

Stiles was fidgeting with the hem of her singlet, looking down at her knees and Derek could sense the anxiety coming off her in waves, “You were thinking…?” He prompts.

“You should rebuild the house.” She blurted it out, watching him out of the corner of her eye, “I mean, our pack is growing and it seems like almost all of us want to stay with the pack. Dad said I could, Isaac doesn’t want to go back to Scott’s and he wants to stay with Malia and she wants to stay with us. Ethan has been camping on Danny’s couch and Lydia is lonely. And let’s be honest, three bedrooms and one bath – not gunna cut it with a pack that contains three women and two gay guys.”

“Stiles,” his voice was sharp. He knew it made sense, he could see her point and it was valid. Even the last twenty-four hours spent together had been a strain in terms of bathroom use and privacy. He sighed, “I’ll think about it.”

Stiles nodded, “That all I ask. So hey, what are we doing today? You said running drills, what kind of drills?”

Derek smirked this time and raised an eyebrow, “You’ll see.”

 

“Laser tag?” Stiles squawked, “Are you for real? Where is Derek and what have you done with him?”

Derek narrowed his eyes at her and talked over her, “No rules really, you just need to stay in the marked area, the trees are marked with yellow ribbon so don’t passed them. All for one and one for all, you can team up or go at it alone. It’s about learning to use all your senses for the wolves and quickening reaction time for everyone. The game is set so as your lasers take 10 seconds to reset, so once you are shot, you have ten seconds to get the hell outta there before you can be shot again. Your vests keep track of how many times you’ve been shot and how many accurate shots you make. The game will last an hour, so do your worst, because the winner gets a reward.”

Stiles picked up her gun and rested it against her hip, smirk “This is what I was born to do.”

 

Derek had his laser gun rested against his shoulder; he could smell Danny as he weaved through the trees when he caught the scent of someone else. _Pack, family, pack._

“Peter?”

Stiles slipped up behind, poised to fire her weapon and froze, “Peter?”

Derek howled and listened for the answer then took off through the woods, shifting into full wolf form while Stiles and Danny dropped their laser guns and sprinted off after him. Stiles yelled out for the rest of the pack, confident they would hear and follow because something had gotten to Derek and Stiles just _knew_ he needed his pack.

Stiles first seen him kneeling on the ground, he was naked having shifted back to human and kneeling next to a body that looked suspiciously dead. Isaac ran into her as she skidded to a halt, catapulting her forward and to her knees next to her alpha.

“Peter?” Stiles croaked, taking in the man in front of her. His clothes were torn and bloody, he had unhealed cuts and bruises all over him. “Derek, what happened to him?”

“I – I don’t know.” His voice was shaky, “Isaac, go and get the Camaro, we need to get him back to the apartment. He’ll heal better with his pack. He smells … weird.”

“Weird as in not like pack, weird or weird as in something is wrong, weird?” Stiles asked softly as Isaac took off through the woods. She rubbed a hand up his arm, gripping his shoulder tightly.

“Something is wrong, weird,” Derek bit out and he shrugged Stiles off to lift Peter off the ground and start in the direction of the roaring engine of the Camaro.

“Stiles,” Danny called and when she looked up he motioned her to him, “Something is going on. Look,” he pointed at the screen of his smartphone, where there was endless tweets and status updates flowing over his screen. Stiles frowned, it looked like something from a horror movie, pictures of bodies and people ripping other people apart, blood and gore.

Stiles frowned, “Are you sure it’s not some sort of hoax?”

“With this many people talking about? I don’t think so,” Danny murmured, he locked his phone screen and shoved his phone in his pocket.

“Okay, okay,” Stiles rubbed a hand over her face. “You need to go with Derek. Take Ethan, Isaac and Malia with you, don’t tell him anything about what’s going out there. Just call me as soon as Peter wakes up and talks. I’m going to take Lydia and Scott to Deaton’s, if anyone knows what’s going on out there, it will be him.”

“Okay,” Danny smiled and rubbed his shoulder against her, “Be careful and check in okay?”

Stiles nodded and slipped away from Danny and Derek, he grabbed Scott and Lydia’s hands and dragging them towards where she had parked the jeep.

“Stiles,” Lydia snapped, “Stiles, what the hell is going on?”

“We need to go and see Deaton. Something is going on, it’s all over social media. I don’t know if it’s a hoax or what, but he’ll know.” Stiles didn’t want to expand; she didn’t want to fill everyone’s head with those horrid images that she and Danny had seen on his phone.

“Stiles,” Scott grabbed her arm and tried to swing her back to face him. She spun and pushed him back with enough force to throw him into a nearby tree. He staggered to his feet, panting and frowning, “What the fuck was that? Did he turn you?”

Stiles snarled, so animal and primal that it wouldn’t be ridiculous to think she had been turned, “No, you loser, I’ve told you time and time again, _I don’t want to be a werewolf_ and that hasn’t changed.”

Lydia and Scott watched her with wide eyes, looking at her like she had suddenly grown an extra head. She narrowed her eyes and spun around, “Either come with me or stay here, I don’t care, but _I’m_ going.”

They followed her in silence, she could feel them staring at her back, their gazes filled with fear and awe and curiosity and just a tinge of anger coming from Scott but she didn’t care, she needed to get this situation sorted. Peter showing up ripped to ribbons, then the nightmarish stuff off Danny’s social media and Stiles had a sinking feeling this was all just the beginning.

 

Deaton greeted them at the door like he knew they were coming; he ushered them in and slammed the door, turning the lock before turning to face them. He eyed the trio before speaking, “I suppose you’ve seen the news?”

Stiles shook her head, “No, just everything flying around on social media, its stuff of nightmares Deaton, it’s not really happening, is it?”

Lydia all but stamped her foot when she snapped, “Can someone tell me what the actual fuck is going on?”

“Zombies, Lyida, fuckin’ zombies.”

“What?” “What?”

Deaton nodded, “Something of the sort, people started turning about 5am this morning. There was no threat or ransom, just all of a sudden people trying to eat each other. They are saying viral warfare on the news. The President has raised the terrorism warning alert to imminent and warned people to stay in their homes.”

“Someone did this deliberately?” Stiles frowned, “Who? And how?”

“It was internal, but the viral had Russian markers on it. No one is really sure where the virus originated, but we have never seen anything like it. My guess is it was born in a lab and someone sold it to the highest bidders.”

For the first time, Stiles noticed how tired Deaton looked, his clothes were rumbled and wrinkled and he had bags under his eyes and stubbled covering his chin. Stiles had never seen Deaton look so old before.

“It’s not airborne then?” Lydia asked as she started to pace and Stiles could all but see the cogs start turning and whirling in her head, “It would have to be through bodily fluids or skin to skin contact.” Her head snapped up, “Would it affect werewolves?”

Deaton shrugged, “I honestly don’t know. I advise you to get pack to your pack, stock pile everything you have and camp out at Derek’s apartment, the building would be safer, more walls and doors between you and the outside world. Fill the pack and I’ll be in contact when I know anything else.”

The trio nodded and turned to leave when Deaton held Stiles back, “We may not have time to train you to use your spark but you can protect yourself and your pack through sheer will. Just clear your mind and imagine what you want to happen, imagine hard and believe and it will happen. I have faith in you, Stiles, keep your alpha and pack safe.” He offered her a small sad smile and she knew right away, she would never see him again. “Goodbye Stiles.”

“Goodbye,” she squeezed his hand and jogged back out to the jeep and climbed into the driver’s seat as her phone rang, she yanked it out of her pocket and slid the answer button, “Danny.”

“Yeah,” Danny’s voice was tinny over the connection, as though too many people were on the line, “Peter’s awake and he's been saying one thing over and over since he woke up.”

“What has he said?”

“They’re coming.”


	4. Day Zero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pack starts a journal, these chapters will pop all through the fic and may or may not be in order.
> 
> PS; this is the second update today, so scroll back a chapter, yeah?

Day Zero

First victims along the East Coast. Manifests in aggression, people trying to kill and eat each other but ~~no one actually dies- _they can be killed through separating the head from the body_ \- Lydia, I thought we agree I was keeping the journal - _And you can but you suck at it_ OKAY!~~. The fuckers can be killed by beheading. Well that’s what the secretary of defence said.

13.23 hours: We are holed up in Derek’s apartment until we hear more.  
16.30 hours: Deaton called, Beacon Hills is on high alert and we can’t find dad or Melissa or Chris. No one is answering their phone and I’m not sure if that’s a good sign or bad. We need weapons.  
18.00 hours: Parrish called, he’s heading to Derek’s now, sent by dad who is trying to secure Beacon Hills.  
 _22.33 hours: Stilinski feel asleep, but we can hear screams now. Not a lot, but enough to worry Derek and Parrish. – Sorry Stiles._

Accounted for: ~~_As in with us, here._~~

Stiles Stilinski  
Lydia Martin  
Isaac Lahey  
Derek ‘Alpha’ Hale  
Scott McCall  
Danny Mahealeni  
Ethan No-Last-Name  
Malia Tate  
Peter Hale  
Jordan Parrish 

 

Missing

John Stilinski  
Melissa McCall  
Alan Deaton  
 ~~Jordan Parrish~~  
Chris Argent

 

Confirmed Dead ~~_(As in we beheaded them or seen them behead)_ , LYDIA!! FFS! ~~

None.

Confirmed Turned

None.


	5. Everybody's going to War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd so all mistakes are my own.
> 
> I hope you're enjoying the ride.
> 
> j2mslittlebitch.

“We need to get out of here,” Stiles was panicking, she hadn’t heard from her father in six hours, even after he promised to check in every two. Her rational side was trying to tell her that his phone could have gone flat, or the network had gone down. Things had been sketchy after four days of this apocalyptic shit.

“Calm down, Stiles,” Parrish murmured. He was leaning over a map on the coffee table, regions marked red for dangerous or green for safe, all the intel coming from her father and the remaining police staff. Parrish had been injured on the second day, taking a bullet to the leg while fending off Walkers who had started appearing steadily and hadn’t stopped.

Stiles hadn’t ventured outside, she had promised her dad she would stay safe and she hadn’t been able to bring herself to break that promise until now. She had her fists clenched in Derek’s shirt, her desperation projecting and making the entire pack edgy. Derek had been trying to sooth her for hours which only resulted in him becoming tired, cranky and frustrated.

“She’s right, you know?” Peter asked as he walked from the bedroom, now dressed in clean clothes and fully healed. It had taken him two days to become coherent and snap out of his mental break and it had afforded the some comfort and strength, knowing that the bites and scratches of the Walkers do not affect ‘wolves. “We are running low on all supplies, there’s no damn food left and you’re emissary is making us all crawl the walls.”

Derek frowned and called the other pack members to the lounge room, “It’s becoming apparent we are going to have to relocate, Peter has just brought it to my attention that we are running low and food –”

“We also have no toilet paper,” Lydia piped up.

Derek rolled his eyes and continued, “We haven’t heard from the Sheriff in a while, so I think it would be better for Ethan, Scott, Isaac and myself to go and do some recon before we take the whole pack out without knowing what’s going on out there.”

“No,” Stiles snapped, “No, you will not go out there and risk your life and leave me here so I can wait to feel you get ripped apart. So when we go, we all go together. We have weapons,” she kicked the BHSD duffel Parrish had stumbled in with, “And we have me.”

“You don’t know how to use it,” Derek said, “We can’t trust it to protect us if you don’t know how to harness it.”

“Harness what?” Scott asked, frowning deeply.

Peter was looking between the exchanged with his normal hint of distain, “You are so far out of the loop,” he murmured, “they are talking about her spark. She’s his emissary.”

“You’re his what?” Scott took a step forwards and pushed between Malia and Ethan who were flanking Stiles, “How could you do this? How could you choose him over me?”

Stiles snarled, “I did not choose, that choice was taken away from me when you challenged Derek and became a beta. Derek is my alpha and he is better suited to me then what you are. You are my brother, Scott and nothing will change that, but you are a lousy friend.” She turned from him then and looked at Derek, “Deaton gave me a crash course, and I’ve been practicing. I’m no Deaton but I’m something.”

Danny stepped forwards, “I’m inclined to agree with Stiles, I don’t want to be left here – not if Ethan is going to go out and risk his life. I am not some damsel in distress.” 

 

In the end, they decided to leave together. Stiles dressed in her favourite ripped denim jeans, with a black singlet and her leather jacket and knee high black boots. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she had taken the time to apply some make-up, with black lining her eyes, snapping at Scott that if she was going to die, she was going to look good when she did. She had the wolf pendant on and thigh holsters on containing two .55’s and two lethal looking knives that Stiles had pulled from her own bag. She had explained to Derek they were silver plated with veins of wolfsbane running through them, she had made six of them during her time fighting sleep when she was fighting of the Nogtisune. She handed two to Lydia and two to Danny, she wasn’t sure if they would fight off Walkers but they sure kicked a pack to a werewolf, Derek had almost whined with pain when he had picked one up off the bed to examine it.

Parrish popped a few pain pills, rewrapped his wounds and loaded weapons into his holsters. He still wasn’t comfortable with leaving and taking the civilians with them, they had no formal training and as much as Stiles could handle a gun and move shit with her mind, he still didn’t believe that she would be able to shoot one of her friends in the head if push came to shove.

“I don’t need you to protect me, Peter, I am sufficient at protecting myself,” Lydia snapped as she stormed into the lounge room, Peter hot on her heels. “And if I did need protecting, you would be the last person I chose to do so. Do you understand me?”

Peter made to grab her arm but she spun out of his grip, ducking under his arm and coming up, her arm swinging out with Stiles’ knife in her grip pushed against Peter’s throat. “Like I said, I can protect myself, so go and work your guilt out some other way.” She dropped the knife and turned away, walking over to Parrish who had gone back to analysing the map again with Derek on his other side.

“I think we need to go through town, gather what we can then head for isolation.” Parrish was pointing to markers on the map, “Somewhere with low population will attract less Walkers and less chance of us getting attacked.”

Stiles appeared, rubbing a hand over Derek’s back before tucking herself between the two men, “I know a place. Dad used to take me up there during summer holidays. It’s a long way out of the way, an old abandoned summer camp. It’s fenced and has running water and lockable cabins.” She pointed at the furthest point south east on the map, “It’s down here, a good two hour drive from anywhere. If we go through town and collect all the provisions our cars can carry, we might be able to ride this thing out there.”

“That’s good,” Parrish nods, “We head there. We will go in groups, go to different stores and get what we can. Food, medicine, first aid supplies, gas and bottled water are the top priorities, along with personal hygiene stuff especially for the ladies.”

“Okay,” Derek sighed, “So we go in groups. Isaac and Malia take Stiles’ jeep, go to the top end of town and get everything you can and I mean _everything_! Stay safe, if anything happens, call me and if you think you can’t get in and out safely, don’t.” They both nodded and accepted Stiles’ keys. “Parrish, you go with Lydia and Peter and go down town, Parrish you know what we need, get what you can. Ethan, Danny, can you guys head to Argent’s, see if he’s there. If not, break in, take what you can. He has a weapons safe in his study, Danny it’s electronic, you can hack it right?”

Danny nodded, “It might take some time.”

“You have an hour,” Derek turned to face Stiles, “You, me and Scott will head to your house, get your dads weapons, then we’ll try and find Melissa and the Sheriff – I’m not promising anything but we can look. We will meet at the Beacon Hills sign on highway 88 in an hour. Like I said, be safe. If you can’t get in and out without putting yourselves at risk, then don’t. I want you all to make it through this.”

 

Stiles knew it was a terrible idea to split up, but they had no choice. If they stayed together, they wouldn’t be able to get everything done in the time they had. She sat silently in the passenger seat of the Camaro as Derek steered it around abandoned cars and wreckages along her street. Scott was in the backseat and she could sense him panicking but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything about it.

When Derek steered the car to the curb and Stiles seen the house was dark and locked up with all windows intact, she flew from the door, stumbling up the gutter to the front door. She felt around the top of the door frame and found the spare key, shoving it in the lock then pushing the door open.

“Dad,” she called, as she walked from into the dark. “Derek, is anyone hear?”

He nodded silently as he walked up behind her, placing a finger on his lips in the universal ‘shh’ sign, she nodded and let him walk before her up the stairs. The moved as quietly at they could and Derek came to a halt outside the study door that was shut. He lifted a hand and pushed it open.

"Dad!” Stiles hissed and slid forwards, landing on her knees next to her father’s body, she shook his shoulder gently. She could see blood on his uniform shirt and his gun was upholstered, lying with an empty magazine next to his hand. She flinched when he twitched his eyes open.

“Stiles?” His voice was weak and his teeth were bloody. She knew what that meant, she had been around enough death to know it meant punctured lungs or some sort of internal bleeding.

She dragged him up and into her lap, missing his wince of pain as she hugged him and pressed her face into his shoulder, “Daddy. God, I thought you were dead.”

John looked at Derek over her shoulder and Derek knew that he soon would be, his heart was irregular and strained, his skin was pale and almost blue and Derek didn’t know how Stiles would come back from this.

Scott appeared next to Derek and pushed passed him, falling to his knees next to Stiles and John, he grabbed John’s hand and Derek could see the black leeching up his veins as he took the older man’s pain.

“Scott, son, you need to look after her –” John coughed.

“No!” Stiles shrieked, “No, Derek bite him. Turn him, please.” She was sobbing now, her entire body shaking and Derek dropped down behind her, holding her with one arm and placing on hand on John’s neck, pulling the both of them back into him.

“Stiles, baby, he won’t make it. The bite won’t take, he’s too far gone – I can’t, I’m sorry.” He could feel her pain as she rocked her father back and forth, holding his to her.

“Stiles,” John’s voice was barely more than a whisper, “Stiles, Władysława, you know I love you and I’m proud of you. I love you so much and I’m glad I got to see you one last time.”

He feel silent and Derek knew it was because he couldn’t muster the energy to talk anymore, he wasn’t in pain, he and Scott had seen to that and he had blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth from between his lips.

Derek knew the exact moment his heart gave out, heard it stop and felt his emissary’s heart break. Stiles sobbed into John’s hair, holding him tighter than she ever had, calling out to him over and over again, screaming for him to come back to her, that she couldn’t do this without him.

Derek’s phone beeped with a message and he pulled in out of his jeans pocket one handed and read the one line message from Peter.

_Lydia is screaming._

 

In the end, Derek had to carry Stiles away from her father’s body while Scott collected more of her clothes, her photos of her mother and father, and the sheriff’s weapons from his safe, she sat curled in his lap, still whimpering softly in the back seat so Scott slid into the driver’s seat and headed to his house. They lucked out there, Melissa wasn’t home and there was no trace of her having been there for some time, so Scott retrieved his belongs then headed to the hospital.

Derek knew it was ground zero, but it still shocked him as they pulled into the emergency parking. Derek didn’t want to leave Stiles but he didn’t want to let Scott go alone, so they all climbed out of the car. Stiles silently allowed herself to be arranged with her arm over Derek’s shoulders and leant on him heavily as they moved throughout the hospital.

Doors were locked or barricaded, signs spray painted on doors warning people of Walkers within them, body and bodies were strewn throughout the hallways as they searched for Melissa. Once again, they couldn’t find her but her scent was stronger throughout the hospital and it comforted Scott that she still smelt like herself, still human.

“Scott,” Derek reached out a hand and touched the beta on the shoulder, “We can’t wait any longer. We need to go and meet the others. Send her a text message with the camps coordinates and she’ll come to us, if she’s able.”

Scott nodded and pulled his phone out, quickly texting his mother as they head back out of the hospital. He was lagging behind, three or four metres and no one seen the Walkers stumble out of the room to their right as they passed it, until it was too late.

There was too many of them, Scott had wolfed out, all claws and fangs as had Derek, the group separated, turning on Stiles and Derek too. He had to push her off him and step forwards, between the zombies and Stiles. She jerkily pulled her knives from her holsters, making the decision to leave the guns, she’d seen all the movies and knew noise attracted them and as if they didn’t have enough to fight off now with attracting more.

“Scott,” she called, her voice scratchy from crying, “Scott, c’mon man –” She didn’t finish her sentence as the Walkers overwhelmed them, four pushed against Derek but he was swinging his claws and a lethal looking sword and where had that come from?

She pushed forwards, pushing the knife deep into the back of one of the Walkers that was on Derek, dragging it up until it hit the spine. It turned on her as she ripped the knife out and she bit back a sob as she seen its face and noted that it was one of Melissa’s best friends. 

She took a step back, she had ran drills with the pack enough to know how to fight and she was good but these were zombies, they only died with beheading or by having their brains destroyed. She tried to remember Deaton’s words, she needed to focus, imagine, so she did. She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath before throwing out her hand and letting the knife fly from her palm, and watched in awe as it neatly removed the Walkers head from her neck.

“Stiles,” Scott was yelling, he was screaming and Stiles could feel his distressed and she turned to face him, throwing her energy up and over, to fall in a protective bubble around her brother. The Walkers pushed against it, but it didn’t give and Scott looked over at her with a look of pure appreciation on his face. 

She backed up a step as they all turned on Derek and herself once they realised there was no getting to the beta in the bubble. Derek was pushing at her, trying to get her to move but she was frozen. There was still thirty, maybe forty Walkers between herself and Scott and she couldn’t just leave him, they would rip him apart.

Derek was shouting something, getting dragged down under the Walkers as they grabbed at him and each other and Stiles looked up at Scott and seen the look of understanding on her face and she mouthed _’run_ ’ as she dropped the barrier and forced it down and around Derek and herself, she pulled him to his feet and dragged him towards the door, before dropping the magic and jumping into the car. Derek cranked the engine while Stiles hung out the window, watching the doors and waiting.

She was hit by a crippling pain through her chest and her eyes went wide as she looked down and seen blood blooming over her left breast. She scrubbed at it frantically for a moment before she realised she had no wound and the blood wasn’t coming from her.

“Scott.”


	6. Flat on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because my muse was all over the place, so is this chapter, it's chunks from the future. I think most chapters will be like this due to my terrible attention span. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you are enjoying the ride.

**DAY 69:**

“Shit, shit, shit,” Stiles groaned as they fell through the gates and slammed them shut, padlocking them and backing away from the barbed wire fences. “Where did they even come from?”

“I don’t know,” Derek panted, wiping blood and sweat from his face before grabbing Stiles’ hand, “C’mon, we’ll crank up the generators and we can have running showers tonight.”

“Yeah,” Stiles grinned, “Lydia will love that.”

They had gotten lucky when they set up base camp at this old summer camp, it had been stocked full with 44 gallon drums of fuel with hand pumps used when guests wanted power or running water. They rarely left the generators running for more than two or three hours, for everyone to shower, wash their clothes and charge any electronics that they needed too and so far they had only used half a drum.

Derek disappeared to drop off the supplies they had retrieved and start the generators while Stiles walked through the paths and woods to their cabin, shedding her clothing and weapons as soon as she walked through the door. She would have to do some washing after she showered, she was down to her last singlet and hoodie and her jeans were so filthy they could almost stand by themselves.

She stopped at the dresser that held their clothes and meagre possessions to open the top draw and pull out the bottle of rum, uncapping it before taking a swig and looking up at herself in the mirror. She rarely looked in the mirror anymore, she hated the person that looked back at her. The shadow of her former self with dead eyes and pale skin. That’s all she was now, she wasn’t Stiles, the smartassed kid, who kicked ass in debate and ran her mouth and laughed and goofed off, now all she seen was Stiles a murderer and a survivor and a witch. 

She raised a hand to her face and pushed her hair back out of her face and frowned as she pressed two fingers to the bruise on her hairline, she hadn’t seen the Walker coming, she had been watching out for Derek and the thing had caught her from behind and dragged her down, clawing at her before slamming her head into the ground. She had come too with Derek crouched over her, wolfed out and growling, covered in blood and she could feel the desperation projecting from him.

She took two more swigs from the bottle, capped it and dropped it back into the draw before glancing once more into the mirror and turning away before she could think too deeply about the monster she seen staring back at her. 

She was standing naked next to the shower stall when she heard the whirl of the generator and she grinned, pushing the curtain back and turning the shower on as hot as it would go. It took a moment for the water to heat up and run clear and hot but she was so thankful to feel it running over her sore, overused muscles she never even cared.

She heard Derek press play on the small CD player in their bedroom before he stepped into the shower stall behind her and placed his hands on her hips, running them up her ribs to cover her breasts as he rested his head on her shoulder, under the spray of water. She giggled as he shook his head, shaking water out like a wet dog before his lips found the curve of her throat, tongue and teeth running over her sensitive skin.

_‘Climb into the ring for a battle that you can't win.’_

She groaned and arched her head to the side, baring her neck in a sign of submission and _oh god, yes!_. He brushed his thumbs over her nipples, growling into her throat as she squirmed and wiggled against him.

_‘Swing as hard as you can swing, it will still mean nothing.’_

She could feel his cock against her hip, already hard and she pushed back into him. She almost whimpered when his hands went from her breasts to her shoulders and he spun her around, slamming her back into the wall, stealing the breath out of her lungs before his mouth was on hers.

_‘Should’ve seen it coming, it had to happen sometime.’_

Derek kissed like he fought, dirty, messy and hard, their teeth clashed as Stiles opened her mouth against his and let her tongue meet his. Her hands were tangled in his hair, gripping and pulling as he bent his head, dragging his teeth down over her chin, down her neck and then he bent and sucked a nipple into his mouth.

_‘But you went and brought a knife to an all out gun fight._

Her hand slammed back into the wall hard enough that she saw stars as he moved his mouth from her nipple and he crouched, dropping to his knees and licking his way down to her navel, sucking bruises into her skin, marking her.

He pressed his lips to the inside of her thigh, blinking up through the water at her as she writhed against the wall, before he licked his tongue up her wet slit and suctioned his lips over her clit. She could feel the pressure building at the base over her spine as he placed a hand under her thigh and lifted it over his shoulder before pushing against her hips to keep her in place.

She was sure she was on fire, set alight and burning from the inside out as he worked his tongue against her, flicking it against her clit. His fingers dug into her hips hard enough she was sure she was going to bruise and she didn’t even care. Her orgasm blindsided her, it hit her so hard she screamed and collapsed against the wall and Derek as he sat back and stood.

He was on her in a second, hands under her ass, lifting her and pressing her against the wall, sliding into her in one smooth movement, eliciting a bitten off moan from her and then he was moving, hard and fast and desperate, pounding into her as the water washed over them. She held onto him, legs wrapped around his hips and arms wrapped around his shoulders, her nails digging in so hard she broke skin and drew blood for a second before they healed over.

She was left boneless by the second orgasm; her throat was raw from screaming, moments before she felt Derek’s shoulders tense under her hands and he jackhammered into her before shoving his nose into her throat, inhaling her scent and roaring into her skin with red eyes as he came inside of her.

There was silence for a moment, filled only by the sound of running water and their mingled, panted breath before he murmured into her skin, “I thought I had lost you.”

Stiles held him close, her legs still wrapped around his hips and kissed his hair, “It’s okay, I’m still here, but do you think we could maybe talk about this when you’re not inside of me anymore.”

Derek chuckled quietly and lifted her slight, slipping out of her before he helped her find her feet again. They washed each other quickly and efficiently before turning the shower off and stepping out, drying off and Stiles fell into their bed, while Derek pulled out her bottle of rum and rifled around for a bottle of his wolfsbane beer. He collapsed next to her and handed her the bottle.

They both took quiet swings before he started talking again, “I thought you were dead when that thing was on you. There was so much noise, I couldn’t hear your heartbeat, all I could hear was it.”

She took a deep mouthful of rum before setting it down next to the bed, “I won’t ever leave you, Derek, I love you, you know that.”

“I know,” he murmured, downing the rest of his beer before dropping the bottle to the floor and curling into her naked body, “I love you too, but I can’t do this without you, I cannot live through this without you.”

“It’s okay,” she soothed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and running her hands through his damp hair. “I’m yours and that will never change.”

_‘You’ve gone too far, who do you think you are, is this what you came for, well this means war.’_

They fell asleep curled around each other and clinging to each other like it was their last night on earth, like it very well could be.

 

**DAY 180:**

 

“To your left,” Lydia screamed to Stiles, as she spun and defended herself against one of the Walkers trying to eat her.

Stiles moved with taught grace, ducking and striking out with her knife, burying it deep with one hand and slicing its head clean off with the other. She pulled both knives from the body at once, wiping them clean on her jeans before slamming them into their holsters again.

“Lydia, c’mon,” Stiles shouted as she threw the backpack over her shoulder, “We need to go. There’s more coming. More than we can handle.”

The redhead nodded, ripping her own blade free and pushing it into the thigh holster before they both jogged out of the half demolished lab. Stiles could hear them, the shuffling and moaning and it terrified her. They had been separated from the group an hour ago but they had needed these files from the lab. They had heard whispers of an immunization, maybe a cure and the blueprints were in the bag.

_Bang! Bang!_

The girls froze, Lydia turning and looking behind towards the lab with a frown, “Was that _gunfire_?”

Stiles shrugged, no one in their group was stupid enough to shot unless it was their completely last option. Gunfire drew more attention to them than any of them liked and with their dwindling ammunition supply, they could afford to use any more the necessary.

Stiles stared for a moment, squinted into the darkness surrounding the building. There was flashes of muzzle fire, movement and shouts, she could hear people shouting, men yelling at each other and God, they were making so much noise.

“Lydia,” Stiles didn’t take her eyes off them men as she slipped the backpack down off her shoulder and into her hand, “Go and hide the backpack and stay out of sight.”

“Why?” Lydia whispered, snatching the bag and moving anyway.

“Because they look like they are military and if movies have taught me anything, you can’t trust the army in zombie situations.” Stiles listened for Lydia’s retreating footsteps and when they had faded, she pulled her Spark and pulled up for force field, she wasn’t stupid, she could see bullets flying. She pulled her two .55s and raised them to shoulder height then stopped and waited.

It didn’t take the men long to notice her, standing in the bright moon light and they advanced with weapons raised and fingers poised over the triggers. They surrounded her in one effective movement and Stiles never even flinched.

“Lower your weapons,” the man in front of her ordered.

“What are your intentions?” Stiles snapped back.

“We are searching the ruins for survivors, we have a camp about 500 clicks north. A helicopter leaves the townsquare at 1700 every afternoon.” The same man answered, “We have a radio message on repeat but most radios have died by now. We are sweeping towns on foot.”

“Am I required to follow you?” Stiles asked.

“Are you a fucking idiot?” The man snorted, “Why would you want to stay out here? Have you been locked up in a room for six months, do you have no idea what’s going on out here?”

There was movement to Stiles’ left and she spun, dropping onto one knee and cocking her guns, “Don’t talk down to me, I’ve been on the front line of this war since day one. And you,” she nodded to the young man she had her guns pointed at, “Keep your hands away from those tranqs. I know how you people work.” She stood and turned to face who she assumed was the commander, “I have people who need me, I cannot just leave them – ”

“Sarge,” another man stepped up to his side, “Sarge, we can’t just leave her here, she’s pregnant.”

Stiles tensed and raised her guns again, “That doesn’t change things, I will not just abandon my people.”

“Listen, lady,” Sarge was clearly getting tired with the whole conversation, “It’s my duty to protect you, I cannot leave you out here in your condition –”

“No!” Stiles snapped, “I cannot just leave my people.”

“You and your baby will die out here,” Sarge barked, “There is no medical supplies left, no nurses or doctors. You will die.”

She shook her head but was interrupted before she could speak. Then man who had noticed her condition murmured, “I’ll accompany her to her group, in form then of the chopper. If they aren’t willing to come, I’ll meet the next chopper and meet you at camp.”

“That’s not ness-” Stiles started.

“Okay, Daniels, stick with her and get her group.” Sarge slapped the younger man on the shoulder, “See you soon, son.”

 

**DAY 128:**

“Are you fucking for real?” Stiles shouted, “Are you serious right now?”

“Stiles,” Lydia was trying to calm her, her hands flailing around unsure of weather touch would be welcome or slapped away. “Just take the test, you’ve missed two periods now.”

“Have you ever thought maybe it’s from the stress of the fucking _zombie apocalypse_?” She was still shouting, she couldn’t help it, the thought of being pregnant terrified her and if she was being honest, she had thought about too many times over the last month.

“Well in that case, why would it hurt to take the test,” Lydia snapped, tossing her hair over her shoulder, “As least you will know for sure.”

Stiles collapsed against the wall and slid down, resting her cheek on her knees, “What if I don’t want to know? What if I want to carry on in ignorance and bliss?”

“And wake up one morning haemorrhaging so bad we can’t save you? We aren’t doctors, Stiles, we need to prepare so we can protect you if we need to.” Lydia’s voice was soft as she dropped down onto the floor next to the other girl, “I can’t lose you too, do you understand?”

“Okay,” Stiles murmured and held out a hand for Lydia to place the box in.

Lydia paced impatiently outside the toilet stall while she waited. She kept checking her wrist were her watch had sat, the last gift Jackson had given her before moving to London, before remembering she had smashed it during her last run in with Walkers.

The stall door opened and Stiles appeared, flushed so white Lydia thought she might collapse. She didn’t speak, simply held out the stick for Lydia to see the big pink cross on the screen. “T-that means yes, right?”

Lydia nodded, “Oh god, oh god.”

“What the fuck are you freaking out for?” Stiles snapped, “I’m the one who’s going to die.”

“No, you’re not,” Lydia shook her head, “We need to tell Derek, right away because this changes things.”

“How does this change things, Lydia?” Stiles asked, “I don’t think we need to rush into telling anyone. Times are a bit rough out there, I might not be pregnant next week.”

Lydia blanched, “Do you understand this could be your only chance to be a mum, that everyone could be dead in a year or two? That the human race could be extinct?”

“Do you really blame me for not wanting to bring an innocent child into this world?” Stiles asked, “It’s so uncertain and scary out there. We are out there fighting a _war_ every single day, Lydia. We haven’t seen any humans in weeks. We could be the last ones left.”

“Don’t be over dramatic, Stiles,” Lydia snapped, “We are not the last people alive and if we are, it comes down to us to repopulate, doesn’t it?”

Stiles laughed, dry and humourlessly, “Why haven’t you started then?”

“Who says I haven’t?”

 

**Day 131:**

“Derek, I’m pregnant.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I really need to say a giant sorry for the terrible sex scene contained in this chapter. For enjoying my fair share of amazing hetro sex, I am incredibly terrible at writing sex, so sorry :)
> 
> Also the lyrics in this chapter are Nickelback This Means War.


	7. I Will Follow You to Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m sorry.” Peter murmured.
> 
> “For what?” She shuffled back a little, so they were sitting eye to eye.
> 
> “Everything.” He was silent for moment, “For dragging you into hell with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short, but just a little filler and background :)
> 
> Hope you are enjoying the ride.

**Day 04:**

Lydia was running, she could hear them behind her, stumbling and moaning and definitely getting closer. All the zombie movies had been deceiving and lulled her into a false sense of security thinking that the undead were slow and uncoordinated. Which they definitely were until the seen or smelt live flesh, then BAM! super zombies.

 

She had lost Peter and Parrish back at the pharmacy, she had been looking for the womanly essentials and only managed to throw in a shelve of tampons and medical supplies before the shelves were rattled and shoved and five Walkers stumbled around, so she had thrown her backpack over her shoulder and scrambled out the back door.

But of course, they had followed, so her plan to sneak around the front and back to the men in the supermarket next door had failed, so now she was running and they were gaining on her. She had Stiles’ knives tucked in thigh holsters that Parrish had given her but she wasn’t much on hand to hand fighting and the thought of getting close enough to use them, made her nervous.

She turned a sharp left through a broken narrow gate into an alley when she seen the alley in front of her was a dead end, skidding around the corner and half slipping on the wet concrete before pushing herself up using the skip bin next to her. She was panting now, breathing hard, almost sobbing as she ducked behind it. She pressed a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the high pitched whine that was threatening to fall from her mouth.

Lydia wasn’t a coward.

Lydia Martin wasn’t a coward.

 _Lydia Martin was not a coward_.

She pulled the knives out from under her skirt, holding them in a sloppy underhand grip and crouched low, bent at the knees. They Walkers came around the corner, through the narrow gate one at a time and she waited until it stumbled passed her hiding spot to launch up and sever its spinal cord, it went down with a bloody _thump_ and she reefing the knife free, turning for the next one but it was on her, all teeth and nails and Lydia _screamed_.

The Walker was torn off her in a flash of movement, yanking it back and against the wall. Lydia looked up to see Peter neatly rip its head off with his bare hands. He spun, ducking and taking the third out at the knees before plunging his clawed fingers into its eye sockets and pushing down until it stopped struggling.

The fourth and fifth came at him at once and Lydia shouted but he had been grabbed from behind, undead fingers curling around his throat so Lydia raced forwards, knives raised and into Peter’s chest to get to the zombie holding him. She buried the knives into its decaying skin before Peter shoved her down and leapt over her, roaring as he and the last Walker crashed to the ground.

The struggle only lasted thirty seconds before the last of the Walkers was dead. Peter was panting when he looked up at her from his crouched position on the ground, he was covered in blood and his eyes were glowing ice blue and Lydia couldn’t hold back the sob as her knees gave way beneath her.

Peter was up and holding her before she hit the ground and for the first time, she accepted his assistance and sunk into his embrace.

“Let’s go and find Parrish,” he murmured and they headed back in the direction Lydia had ran.

They had just found Parrish were loading their spoils into the back of the car when Lydia shook her head and started backing away. Peter reached out to her, grasping her hand and intertwining his fingers in hers while Parrish looked from the redhead to the older werewolf, confusion plain as day on his face.

“Lydia, who is it?” Peter asked, moments before she opened her mouth and started screaming.

 

**Day 54:**

She woke up drenched in sweat, screaming and calling his name. It only took him three minutes to burst through the door, eyes wide and blue, his mouth open as he called out to her.

Lydia couldn’t pin point the exact night that this had started, she couldn’t remember the first time she woke up screaming Peter’s name or the first time she stumbled out of her cabin, half desperate with fear and hysteria, to find him. And she couldn’t recall the first time he burst through her door as if he had been asleep outside.

“Lydia,” he asked, crouching next to the bed, “sweetie, are you okay?”

She shook her head, she hadn’t been okay in weeks. The voices in her head were deafening, crying out and screaming for comfort and peace – neither of which Lydia could offer them. She tried blocking them out using alcohol but it only intensified them, she resorted to marijuana to dull them because she wasn’t strong enough to handle the constant buzz.

Peter reached out and pulled open the bedside draw and pulled out a joint already rolled and a lighter, placing it between his lips and bringing the lighter to the end and flicking it on, breathing in the sweet smoke until the end flared and then he handed it to the redhead. She took it gratefully and took two drags before she stopped shaking and calmed down enough to talk.

“Sleeping used keep them quiet,” she sighed as he climbed up and sat against the bedhead next to her. She sunk back into him and he dropped an arm over her shoulders, hugging her to his shoulder and she rested her head on his shoulder and blinked sleepily before taking another drag of the joint. “But now nothing keeps them quiet now, not even this.” She waved the joint around and he snatched it from her hand, taking a drag before handing it back.

“Sleeping with you helps.” She had never admitted that before but having Peter wrapped around her grounded her and kept the voices at bay, it enabled her to actually sleep and wake up the next morning feeling more human than banshee.

Peter tensed next to her and for a moment she thought he was going to climb out of the bed and leave but instead he pulled her in tighter and rested his chin on top of her less than perfect hair, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” She shuffled back a little, so they were sitting eye to eye.

“Everything.” He was silent for moment, “For dragging you into hell with me.”

She smiled softly, “Peter, the world went to hell without your help. I just reached the destination a little sooner than others.”

“That’s what I mean,” he was frustrated at how she had changed in the short time since their lives had imploded and they had been thrown together on this rollercoaster. “Two months ago you held a knife to my throat and basically told me you wished I had stayed dead and now you’re screaming for me in your sleep and I _like_ it. I’m not a good person, Lydia, I don’t think I ever have been.”

She took a last drag and stubbed the joint out in the ash tray on the side table before collapsing back against him again. “I’m not sorry, not for anything. And I think now, in _this_ world, none of us are good people.”


	8. Dysfunctional

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was close enough to lay a hand on his arm now and when she made contact, her eyes glowed fire and ice and she gasped before her eyes were normal again and Isaac had collapsed against her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #sorrybutnotsorry

**Day 201:**  
   
Isaac roared, his eyes bright golden as he leapt from the retainer wall and down into the empty pool. Malia was there, buried under a dozen Walkers. They had come out of nowhere, an entire fucking herd of them and they had collided with the blonde beta and they had tumbled into the dry pool.  
   
Derek was on the far side of the pool with Stiles, Peter and Lydia. He roared, eyes flashing red as he took a running leap and landed crouched on hands and knees on the other side of the pool. He caught Isaac by the back of his camo jacket and ripped him back, snarling at the enraged beta who fought tooth and claw to get into his mate.  
   
“Stiles,” Derek shouted to his emissary and she surged forwards, Peter and Lydia flanking her, watching her back while she pulled at her Spark and forced her magic into the pile at the bottom of the pool. She couldn’t feel Malia anymore; she knew that those things in there would have ripped her apart in seconds. The tears gathered behind her eyes as she pushed out and slammed the Walkers away from their friend and back into the walls surrounding the pool.  
   
Derek dropped Isaac and leapt down, grabbing his betas body and gently placing her on the side of the pool before vaulting out. She was barely recognisable, covered in claw marks and bite marks and blood.  
   
“Malia.” Isaac whined and it nearly shattered Stiles’ heart. She let go of the Walkers and sagged against Peter, the energy she had expelled to hold the Walkers back took its toll.  
   
“Derek,” Peter’s voice was soft and Derek nodded, they all knew what had to be done, Malia’s head needed to be removed from her body and then she needed to be buried. “You take them home, I’ll take care of Malia.”  
   
“No,” Isaac snapped but was cut off when Peter turned on him.  
   
“I know you just lost your mate, but let’s remember I just lost my daughter,” Peter snarled, transferring Stiles to Lydia and stepping forwards, “You need to go home, take the girls home.” He stepped right up into Isaac’s space and placed a hand on the blonde boys shoulder, “She wouldn’t want you to have to do this, Isaac, she wouldn’t have wanted your last image of her be like this. So go, _please_?”  
   
Isaac sighed and nodded, shrugging off Peter’s hand and walking around him to join Lydia and Stiles. Derek stood up from where he was crouched over Malia’s body, his eyes were red rimmed and there was tear tracks down his cheeks. Stiles reached a hand out to him and he walked around the pool to link their fingers together, he reached out with his other hand and linked his fingers through Isaac’s, “Let’s go.”  
 

***

   
Peter’s breath was coming in gasping sobs as he piled the dirt on top of his daughter’s grave with a shovel he found in the grounds keepers shed. This wasn’t natural, he wasn’t supposed to bury his daughter. No parent should ever have to bury their child, especially one as young as Malia.  
   
Peter had lived his life, Peter had lived enough to know what loss was. He had lost his wife and unborn child to the Argents, he had lost his entire family and pack to Kate Argent and he had lost his sanity in his voyage for revenge. He had lost his life and then taken Lydia’s life; he had dragged her into the depths of his hell and destroyed her too.  
   
He had like Lydia from the moment he met her, first up he had liked her because she was smart and beautiful and he could _manipulate_ her but those twisted feelings grew and bloomed into something more pure and now she was all he had left.  
   
He dropped the shovel and fell to his knees, the tears finally overflowing as he dropped his head down into his hands and sobbed freely. He should have been closer to Malia, he should have been over the other side of the pool with the two betas, but they had been joking with each other, ribbing each other about their lack of time for sex and there was only so much a father could listen too.  
   
Isaac had turned to face her, Peter had seen his face lit up like a kid at Christmas as she threw her head back and laughed and then they were on them, a dozen – maybe more. Isaac was in the right place at the right time, a step further forward and to the left of Malia, they had crashed straight into her, tumbling into the pool like a line of those dodos out of that Disney movie Stiles loved so much.

Isaac had reacted quickly, trying to throw himself in the pool after her, but Derek had caught him and prevented their ragtag group from losing a second beta in one night. Peter stood up and brushed the dirt from his knees and palms, listening to the moaning and shuffling footsteps coming from the pool. There was one small favour, that those Walkers that did this would starve and die in the bottom of that hole where they had taken Malia's life.

Peter turned towards the camp and froze when he a noise to his right, he squinted, trying to see through the pre-dawn darkness and took a step forward when he seen someone move out of the shadows. He could have been seeing things, he supposed, after the trauma of beheading and burying his own daughter, of watching her get ripped apart while they couldn't do a thing. That could be it, but the person standing in front of him looked very real.

“Scott... Melissa?”

***

Scott almost couldn't believe his luck when he stumbled upon Peter by the old town pool, they had been separated the first day of this nightmare, Stiles had tried to save them all but in the end, she wasn't strong enough. So he had ran and he had ran until he had found his mother hiding out in the basement of the hospital.

They had been on the move ever since, trying to find this camp Stiles was talking about, but he had lost his phone early on and he had never been up there with them, they had been wandering around the woods up here for three months, holing up in abandoned cabins and living off canned food and dirty water.

His mother was sick, he had known for a while now and his search for Derek and the pack had doubled, leaving her hiding while he tried to pick up any familiar scent. It had become difficult over the last few months, everything smelling of death and decay and the scents were dissipating quicker than ever.

Scott stiffened when Peter embraced him and then his mother, he wasn't sure what to make of the man in front of him, with dirt on his knees and blood on his clothes, who wore tear tracks on his face and a ripped V neck, he looked like the polar opposite of the Peter Scott had known.

“This way,” Peter ushered them forwards, “Quick, before the sun rises.”

Peter set off at a brisk pace, slowing only to frown and catch Melissa before she stumbled to the ground. He steadied then, letting her lean on him and Scott as they approached tall chain link fences with heavy chains and padlocks securing them. He fiddled with the lock for a moment, before it popped and he swung the gates open, closing and locking them behind them.

He led them between several cabins and through several paths before pushing into a cabin in the centre of the park. He helped Melissa down onto a lounge, “Just wait here, I'll get everyone.”

 

Stiles burst into the room barefoot, wearing denim shorts and a tight black singlet top. Her hair was wet and long and fell down over her shoulders to the small of her back and she was fat, like super fat. It took Scott a moment to fight through the shock of seeing his sister here and alive, to realise she was pregnant. He had no time to react though, because she caught him in a bear hug and held tight.

“God, I thought you were dead.” She was sobbing now and he lifted his arms to surround her and hugged her back. “I thought I had killed you.”

Derek was through the door next, half dressed in only dirty sweats with wild eyes and a panicked look on his face. He calmed slightly when he seen Stiles clinging to Scott, his heart beat settled and he stopped on the other side of the lounge, “Jesus, Scott. Where have you been?”

Stiles let go of Scott and moved around to crouch down in front of Melissa, who was pale and all but passed out on the lounge “Ms McCall, are you okay?”

Scott shook his head, “No, she's … I don't really know what's wrong with her. She started getting sick a couple of months ago, I couldn't figure out what was wrong.”

Stiles nodded and eased herself back into a standing position, “Derek, get Parrish and Daniels? Maybe they can shed some light on the situation.” She pushed a hand into the top of her protruding stomach and grimaced, “The damn cub is using my ribs for target practice again.”

Derek rubbed a hand over her head with a small smile and left the cabin, leaving the McCalls and Stiles alone. Scott dropped into one of the vacant seats and looked up at Stiles with questioning eyes, waving a hand at her, “So, I guess we have some stuff to talk about.”

“Yeah, we do,” Stiles' smile was sad and never reached her eyes, “But not right now, we need to find out what's wrong with your mum and -” she sighed and scrubbed a hand down over her eyes, “we just lost Malia, I can't really deal with any shit right now.”

Scott was about to reply when Parrish walked in, followed by a tall young man with dark hair and bright green eyes who Scott was two hundred percent sure he had never seen in his life. Stiles motioned to the stranger, “This stray here is Private Thomas Daniels, we just call him Daniels cause that's what he prefers. I almost shot him and then he decided to join us on our quest.”

Daniels offered a small smile, “Good to meet you, I've heard a lot about you.”

Stiles walked over and grabbed Scott's hand and started to pull him towards the door, “We will give them some privacy to look over your mum and you could definitely use a shower. I'll get Derek to crank the generator for you.”

Scott followed her out the door but stopped as they stepped down the stairs, “Is everyone else still alive?”

Stiles swallowed and nodded, “We have been as lucky as possible up until today, we've had some close calls and well, long story short, Parrish is now a werewolf, Lydia smokes pot to stop the voices, I'm actually pretty sure her and Peter are boning -” She cocked her head and frowned, pressing a hand to her chest, “I need to ...”

And then she was running.

Isaac was doubled over in the doorway of his and Malia's cabin, he was wolfed out and howling, clinging to himself when Stiles and Scott rounded the corner. Stiles threw out an arm and magic and Scott his in invisible wall, stumbling to a halt as he watched Stiles slow down to approached the out of control beta.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Scott knew Stiles was putting herself in a dangerous situation but he couldn't speak even when he tried. She was murmuring to Isaac and had a hand reached out to him, she never even flinched when he rounded on her, all golden eyes and claws.

“Isaac, listen to me, listen to my voice,” She was repeating over and over again, moving slowly towards him, “Come back to me, she wouldn't want this, I know that and you know that. She wouldn't want you to lose yourself and hurt your friends.” She was close enough to lay a hand on his arm now and when she made contact, her eyes glowed fire and ice and she gasped before her eyes were normal again and Isaac had collapsed against her.

Scott was free again, she had dropped the wall and was motioning him forwards and he crept towards the other beta, head down trying to be as submissive as possible because he wasn't sure if him being there would set him off again.

“It's okay, Scott.” Stiles sighed, “Hey Isaac, look who we found.”

The look of pure heartbreak and ache on Isaac's face was like a blade through Scott's gut and he had to take a deep breath before offering a hand, which Isaac readily took and yanked Scott down into a bone crunching hug. Stiles patted them both on the head before backing away.

“Isaac, I'm going to start the generator so Scott can shower, can you get him set up with some clothes and blankets in one of the cabins?” She smiled a little when he nodded, before turning and walking away. 

She needed her mate and she needed him now. Taking Isaac's emotional pain from him had been a spur of the moment decision, she had never done it before and it was wearing her down. She had been able to feel his heartbreak through the bond and it had just been too much for him, the beta had lost too much and it wasn't fair so Stiles had done what she could.


End file.
